Picture-display attachment for phonographs



T. D. JONES AND J. H. BARR.

M. BARR. EXECUTRIX 0F 1. H. BARR. DEC'D.

PICTURE DISPLAY ATTACHMENT FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8, 1920.

lAQQfiQSQ Patented June 27, 1922".

.L 2 SHEETS-SHEET n.

A ATTORNEY.

T. D. JONES AND J. H. BARR.

M BARR. EXECUTRIX ()F 1. H. BARR, DEC-'0,

PICTURE-DISPLAY ATTACHMENT FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8, 1920.

1320328, 4 Patented Jun 27, 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

INVENTORS. I'flfinea maJEBaZ'r.

BY /4 MTTORNEY.

NITED STATES PATENT THOMAS D. JONES AND JOHN H. BARR, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURR'MARY BARR EXECUTRIX 0F SAID JOHN H. BARR, DECEASED.

PICTURE-DISPLAY ATTACHMENT FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 27, 1922.

vApplication filed March 8, 1920. Serial No. 364,239. Y e

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS D. JONES and JoHN- H. BARR, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of Kansas City, county of Jackson, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Picture-Display Attachments for Phonographs, of which the following is a complete specification.

This invention relates to electrical time mechanism for picture display attachment for phonographs, and has for its object to produce mechanism for infallibly synchronizing the display of pictures illustrative of particular words of a phonograph record, with the reproduction of such words by the phonograph. A further object is to produce attachments of the character referred to, which can be applied to any of the approved types of phonographs, at small eX- pense, so as to be within the means of private users as well as exhibitors catering to the public in theatres and the like.

A still further object is to provide mechanism for enabling the owner of a phonograph and electrically operated picture projecting mechanism or apparatus, to produce an electric switch for any record, which will make and break the'electric circuit controlling the operation of the picture projecting apparatus, at the exact moment desired for flashing a picture on a screen illustrative of particular wo'rds'reproduced from the record.

With these general objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel and useful features of construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fully IIDdGIStOOtl reference is to be had to the accompanyingdrawings in which,'-

Figure 1 is a fragmentaryplan view of -a phonograph provided with electric time Figure 4 is an enlarged detail illustrating certain features of construction of the timing mechanism; and v Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical section of part of the timing mechanism.

In the said drawings, 1 indicates the horizontal'partition or bottom for the chamber of a phonograph, containing the record and the tone arm'and accessories, 2 is the record driving shaft, 3 the record mounted upon the customary supporting disc or turn table of said shaft, 4 the customary swingmg tone arm, 5 the reproducer of the tone arm, and 6the needle for engagement with the record, these parts being of the usual or any approved construction.

A shaft 7 is journaled in the support 1 to the right of the tone arm when viewing the machine from the front, and secured upon said shaft in a plane below that of the record 3 and its supporting turn table, s a brass or equivalent disc or turn table 8, and superposed upon the same is a fiber or insulating disc 9. The disc 9 is provided with a spiral series of perforations or openings 10 so located as hereinafter more particularly referred to, to provide for the I completion of an electric circuit at any prea large pulley 13, secured on the lower end of a vertical shaft ll journaled in the support'fl said shaft carrying at its upper end-apulley 15 connected by a belt 16 with the disc 8. The belt gearing is shown because of its simplicity and ease of illustration, but it is to be understood that any type of power transmitting mechanism between the shaft 2 and the shaft 7 may be employed, provided the transmission of power occurs without slippage or lost mo-. tion.

Secured upon the supportat theopposite side of the disc from the tone arm, and extending radially inward over said disc, is a bracket 1718, which bracket is electrically connected as shown at 19 or otherwise, toa lead wire '20 of an electric circuit, not shown, including a picture projecting mechanism. The other lead wire, 21, of such circuit, is electrically connected to a bushing 22 for shaft 7 as clearly shown by Figure 3.-

Mounted slidingly ,on the horizontal or disc-overhanging arm of bracket 17-18, is a slide 23. In the construction shown by Figures 1, 2 and 5, this slide is provided with an upstanding arm 24, pivotally connected by a link 25, with a bracket 26 swiveled for horizontal movement, to and underlying a clamp band 27 secured upon the tone arm as at 28, or in other suitable manner, the arrangement being such that when the tone arm swings inwardly over the record 3, the slide 23 will be moved inward upon the horizontal arm of the said bracket, reverse movement of the tone arm sliding said slide outwardly upon said arm. It will be noticed in this connection by reference to Figure 1, that the inward movement of the swing arm at the point of attachment therewith of the link, corresponds substan tially in range of movement to that of the slide which moves sufficiently inward to intersect the paths of travel of the innermost and outermost of said perforations 10, duringwhich travel the disc 8 shall have made, in the proportions shown, about six revolutions.

.To produce a perforated fiber record 9 for use in connection with a particular piece of music, an imperforate fiber discis secured upon disc 8, and the record for the particular piece of music, speech or the like, is placed upon the turn table of the phonograph in the customary manner. Assuming that the needle of the tone arm is engaged with the outermost convolution of the groove of the record 3, it will be understood that the slide is at the outer end of the guide arm 18. In this instance it is assumed that there is a push button 29 provided with a stem 30 extending slidin ly through the slide and the longitudinal sot of arm 18. A spring 31 tends to hold the button elevated with the enlargement 32 hearing against the bottom of the slide, and mounted in said stem is a marker or pencil 33, held in place by a nut 34 secured upon the lower end of the enlargement 30. The phonograph is now started and as the words reproducedsuggest particular scenes. it is desired to illustrate byapicture projecting apparatus, the operator presses downward upon the button 29 and causes the pencil or marker 33 to make a mark upon the fiber disc, repeating this operation during the pl-ayina of the record, as many times as it is desire at particular points of the record to project a picture. Instead of the pencil it may be possible to employ a die which will perforate the fiber disc, but if not the perforating action can be afterwards made, it being understood that the marks or dots made upon the disc will be sufficiently legible and accurately placed to permit of the perforations being subsequently made.

Assuming that'the record 9 has been completed and has been resecured upon the disd 8 exactly as it was when marked or punched by the downward pressure on the button 27, it will be understood that means must be provided for reproduction purposes, to contact with the disc 8 through the perforations spring being secured at its opposite end to a pin 38 projecting from the slide. The

spring tends to hold the lever in one extreme position or the other. Mounted upon pivot and interposed preferably between the bell crank lever and the slide, is a contactarm 39 terminating-in a rounded head 40 for projection through the openings of the fiber disc to make electrical contact with the disc 8. Said lever is provided with a pair of upwardlyprojecting arms, one numbered 41 having a lateral projection 42 at its upper end, and the other 13, having a similar projection 44 at its upper end, these projections being on opposite sides of the upwardly projecting arm of the bell crank lever 36. When the tone arm is travelling inward upon the record it holds the bell crank lever in the position shown by Figure 4 and hence applies pressure upon the projection 41 and holds the contact point. or ball 39 pressed downwardly on the fiber record so that it shall successively engage the perforations which it encounters in saidrecord during the revolutions. It will thus be seen that the contact progresses inwardly of the spiral series of perforations and thus produces or completes an electrical circuit with each of such contacts and insures the projection of a picture or the like at the moment when the record reproduces words perposition to which it has been adjusted by neaoeae the'bell crank lever striking in its outward movement against the projection 43 of said contactdevice. It will likewise be understood that when the tone arm starts inward, it will again swing arm 35 inward against the resistance of spring 36, and causethe bell crank lever to strike projection 41, and thus depress the contact device until the connection between the spring 36 and bell crank is again above the plane of the axes which is susceptible of modification in vari ous particulars without departing from the principle of construction and mode of operation involved.

We claim:

1. The combination of a swinging tone arm of a phonograph, a member rotatable in fixed ratio with respect to the swinging tone'arm, a slide actuated to move in the same general direction as and synchronously with the tone arm, inwardly over said rotatable member, a

perforated insulating sheet on the rotatable.

member, a contact device carried by the slide, yielding means for holding the contact device pressed against or away from the said sheet,'and means for reversing the position of the contact device, actuated by reverse movements of the tone arm.

2. The combination of a rotatable record of a phonograph, a tone arm movable relative to and controlled by said record, a member rotatable in fixed ratio to saidrecord, an insulating sheet on the rotatable member, a guide extending inwardly adjacent the face of the rotatable. member, a slide mounted thereon, means connecting the slide with the one arm so that movements of the latter shall efiect movements of the former, and means carried by said slide for movement toward and from said insulating sheet and rotatable member.

3. The combination of a swinging tone arm of aphonograph, a member rotatable in fixed ratio with respect to the swinging tone arm, a slide actuated to move in the same general direction as and synchronously with the tone arm, inwardly over said rotatable member, a contact device carried by the slide, yielding means to hold the contact device pressed toward or away from said rotatable member, and means actuated by the swinging arm in changing its direction of movement, to effect adjustment of the contact device toward the rotatable member when the'tone arm makes its operative swing and away from the rotatable member when the tone arm is swungback in the reverse direction.

4:. The combination of a swinging tone arm of a phonograph, a member rotatable in fixed ratio with respect to the swinging tone arm, aslide actuated to move in the same general direction as and synchronously with the tone arm inwardly over said rotatable member, a control sheet on said rota table member, a finger adapted for sliding contact with said control sheet, yielding means for holding the finger pressed against or away from said sheet, and means for reversing the position of the finger actuated by reverse movements of the tone arm.

5. The combination of a rotatable record of a phonograph, a tone arm movable relasignatures.

THUMAS D. JONES. JOHN H. BARR. 

